Mushrooms—MUSHROOMS!—will save us.
You might ask yourself: Uh… save us from what?
Well, ourselves of course.
But mushrooms?
You mean the…
115 million year old—Power Mario—Get you high—Glow in the dark—Pizza—A source
of B and C vitamins—Sometimes poisonous—Humongous fungus mushrooms?
Yes!
Because mushrooms just might be able to…
Cut down on cow farts—Wash your clothes—Treat PTSD—Replace styrofoam—Do you wear leather?
What about mushroom leather?—Fight cancer—And save the bees.
So… just how exactly might mushrooms save us?
Cows fart methane.
And, methane accounts for about 16 percent of global greenhouse gas.
If Americans eat 10 billion burgers every year, how many farts does that equal?
(Cow farts.)
Well, if 30 percent of the beef in each of those burgers was replaced by mushrooms, it
would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the same amount as taking 2.3 million vehicles
off the road.
And considering one McDonald’s burger pattie can contain more than 100 different cows,
what do you care if some mushrooms join the party?
Laundry detergents may look like simple soaps, but they pack about a pound of carbon per
load.
That’s not even including the electricity needed to run your washer and dryer.
And many detergents are full of chemicals—like phosphates, which cause algal blooms, and
surfactants, which help pull stains out of clothes, but also poisons fish.
Enzymes in fungi can replace those harmful chemicals, as well as help engineer more environmentally-friendly
detergents.
Because fungi enzymes require less heat and pressure to activate compared to chemicals,
they cut down on electricity costs and carbon emissions.
Out of every 100 people, eight will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder in their
lives.
It’s even more common among those who have experienced war.
The rate of PTSD in Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans has been thought to be as high as
30 percent.
PTSD is usually treated with counseling and medications like Zoloft.
But that doesn’t work for a third of patients.
Fortunately, magic mushrooms—Yes, those magic mushrooms—and other drugs like LSD
and MDMA are being considered as a treatment alternative for PTSD.
For people with severe depression, the psychoactive mushroom compound psilocybin has already been
proven to be a powerful reset button for the brain.
Each year Americans throw away 25 billion polystyrene cups (a.k.a.
Styrofoam).
In 2014, some 2.33 million tons of this stuff was produced—a lot of it being packaging,
the ghost poop protecting our things.
But, only a mere 1.3 percent was recycled.
And polystyrene doesn’t biodegrade.
Even 500 years from now, the foam coffee cup you used this morning will be sitting in a
landfill.
Also, polystyrene is linked to cancer.
Mycelium, though—the white stringy material that holds mushrooms together—can help.
The team at Ecovative in New York grow mycelium in all kinds of crazy designs.
After six days, they dry the mycelium and are left with a molded shape that keeps anything
and everything safe during transit.
Cows.
(Again.)
Because cows create a lot of methane—in their farts.
Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, since it captures more
of the sun’s heat.
Over a one hundred year period, its global-warming potential is actually 28 times greater than
CO2.
Most cow farts come from beef and dairy production.
But, each year, it’s estimated some 290 million cow hides are used in leather production,
as well.
By 2025, projections show that 430 million cows will be needed annually to keep up with
wallet, handbag, and shoe production.
But entrepreneuers are finding ways to turns mushrooms into a leather-like textiles.
A mushroom motorcycle jacket still costs more than a leather one, but the hope is one day
prices will even out.
As the annual global herd hovers around one billion, mushrooms and other alternatives
could curb the methane in our atmosphere.
The ancient Egyptians ate mushrooms for long life.
And ancient Greeks believed in their medicinal power.
But, this isn’t some pseudoscience.
At least 50 mushroom species have shown promise as immune-boosters.
Extracts from turkey tail mushrooms, for example, are currently being tested as a way to help
patients cope with cancer treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.
Honey bees are plagued by pesticides, climate change, and varroa mites.
In every year since 2006, over a third of all bee colonies have suffered from collapse.
That’s a problem since commercial honeybees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops in the
U.S. annually.
Early research indicates that some fungi can cause disease in insects like these mites
without harming bees.
Hopefully, we can take one killer insect out, while leaving our bumbling friend intact.
So why haven’t mushrooms already saved the world?
Well we haven’t really given them a chance to…
Mushrooms prefer to grow in the darker, damper parts of the planet—which means we’ve
only recently realized their immense potential and started to harness it.
Before, they were just overlooked.
And given the time, energy, and cost of fungi cultivation—not to mention the effort that
goes into isolating the powerful enzymes and molecules inside the mushroom—we’re going
to need further study and lots of money.
But, there’s hope.
Of all places, Sonic Burger is now offering a blended cheeseburger that’s 25 percent
mushrooms.
They aren’t branding it as a way to reduce their carbon footprint, stop methane farts,
or save the planet.
Instead, it’s just about how mushrooms add to the meaty flavor while also reducing your
caloric intake…
But, baby steps people.